Sattiraju Lakshminarayana (15 December 1933 – 31 August 2014), known professionally as Bapu, was an Indian film director, painter, illustrator, cartoonist, screenwriter, music artist, and designer known for his works in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

cinema. In 2013, he was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, for his contribution to Indian art and cinema. He has garnered two National Honors, two National Film Awards, seven state

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

, two Filmfare Awards South, a

Raghupathi Venkaiah Award The Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Award is an award issued by the Indian state government of Andhra Pradesh, to recognise lifetime achievements in Telugu cinema. The award was introduced in 1981 in honour of Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, a pioneer of t ...

, and a

Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South ceremony. Recipients Notes References General * Specific External links 55th Filmfare Awards South Winners {{DEF ...

. Bapu's directorial venture '' Sakshi'' (1967) was showcased at ''Tashkent International film festival'' in 1968. '' Seeta Kalyanam'' (1976) was screened at the BFI London Film Festival,

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, San Reno and Denver International Film Festivals in 1978, and is part of the course at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

. '' Tyagayya'' (1981) and '' Pelli Pustakam'' (1991) were premiered at the Indian Panorama of the International Film Festival of India. Bapu's 2011 film, '' Sri Rama Rajyam'', had a special screening at International Film Festival of India on 28 November 2011. In 1996, he appeared in the Doordarshan Documentary ''Eminent Cartoonists of India'', and was awarded Lifetime Achievement from Indian Institute of Cartoonists in 2001. He gained international recognition through his art works viz., ''Bapu Bomma'', ''The Navarasas'', and the ''Indian Dances'' etc., which were held at the National Film Theatre, London, in 1978 and at the innumerable Telugu Conferences in the United States. He has worked as a graphic artist for ''J Walter Thomson'', ''Efficient Publicities'' and ''F. D. Stewarts'', Chennai. In 1964, he was a delegate at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

sponsored seminar in Bangalore on ''Children's Books''. The same year, he gave demonstrations for the training course programme on book illustrations and cover designs sponsored by UNESCO in Chennai. In the 1960s he has served as art Consultant for

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

sponsored ''The Southern Language Book Trust''. He has designed and illustrated several books for leading publishers in South India out of which, five received Government Awards. He has also done the same for innumerable works drawn from Puranas and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Early life and background

Bapu was born on 15 December 1933, in Narsapur, in present-day West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to Sattiraju Venugopala Rao and Suryakantam. He has worked as a political cartoonist for the newspaper ''Andhra Patrika'' in 1945. He holds B.Com (1953) and BL (1955) from

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

Painting

Bapu's paintings focus on Hindu mythological characters, and he has painted the Hindu epic

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

as a pictorial

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

. His character portrayals, such as

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, Bhima, Duryodhana, look distinctly male with wide chests, large jaws and large biceps; while

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

and

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

are more feminine in build. His paintings have decorated the cover pages of many magazines in India and Abroad. Telugu Naadi Magazine published from USA for Telugu audience have published Bapu's great paintings. Bapu also later served on their advisory board to guide and have an outstanding content for the magazine that catered to Telugu people.

Association with Ramana

Bapu's family was staying in Madras and in 1942, when the Japanese bombed Madras, there was a panic exodus and Bapu's family moved to Narasapuram and stayed there till 1945, when the Second World War ended. Bapu studied in Taylor High School, Narasapuram during these years. Mullapudi Venkataramana's father, who was working as a Sub-Registrar was posted at Narasapuram during the years 1942-45 and so, Venkataramana also studied in Taylor high School, Narasapram, during those years. They were classmates during those three years and that is how their association started. They continued schooling at Kesari High School, Madras. Ramana's first short story 'Amma Maata Vinakapote' was published in 1945 in 'Bala', a children's magazine published by Radio Annayya (Nyayapathi Raghava Rao), he was 14 then. Bapu illustrated the story. That was the beginning of their career as a writer-producer -illustrator- filmmaker duo". Started as an illustrator-story writer team and then turning into a film-director-writer duo, they have contributed immensely to the enrichment of Telugu cultural ethos through literature and cinema. When one mentions Bapu, then one is bound to mention Ramana's name too and vice versa. The most notable achievement in his movie making is his success in capturing the nativity of Telugu people and translating it great on-screen visuals. Ventures like ''Sampoorna Ramayanam'', ''Ramanjaneya Yuddham'' and ''Seeta Kalyanam'' have been the milestones of Telugu cinema, while historical films like ''Thyagayya'', ''Bhakta Kannappa'' and ''Shreenatha kavisarvabhouma'' have been hugely successful. Bapu-Ramana combination has created movie magic on the large screen with some of the path breaking films in Telugu cinema and are ever remembered for films like ''Radha kalyanam'', ''Velugu needalu'', ''Bharyabhartalu'', ''Bhogimanta'', ''Mutyala Muggu'', 'Sakshi'', ''Mr. Pellam', ''Pelli Pustakam''. The duo directed Mana Voori Pandavulu (1978) which won the

Filmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, a ...

Hindi cinema

Bapu is known for his classic movies in Indian cinema, Bapu has directed

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

such as ''Hum Paanch (film), Hum Paanch'', ''Bezubaan'', ''Woh Saat Din'', ''Mohabbat (1985 film), Mohabbat'', ''Pyari Behna'', ''Mera Dharam'', ''Diljalaa'', ''Prem Pratigyaa'' and ''Paramaatma''.

Death

Bapu had suffered heart attacks many times throughout his career. He was admitted into a hospital at Chennai in mid August 2014. He suffered from a cardiac arrest on 31 August 2014, and died later on the same day. He was given a state funeral by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Awards and honours

;Civilian honours *

– Government of India – 2013 ;National honours *Life Time Achievement Award from Indian Institute of Cartoonists – 2001 *President of India Rashtrapati Award from the Academy of Fine Arts, Tirupati ; National Film Awards *National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu – Mutyala Muggu *National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu – Mister Pellam ; Filmfare Awards South * Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) – ''Seeta Kalyanam (1976 film), Seeta Kalyanam'' (1976) * Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) – ''Vamsa Vruksham'' (1980) *

– (2012) ;

– Life Time Achievement in Telugu cinema – 1986 ;;Nandi Award for Best Feature Film (director): *1971: ''Balaraju Katha'' *1973: ''Andala Ramudu (1973 film), Andala Ramudu'' *1975: ''Mutyala Muggu'' *1991: '' Pelli Pustakam'' *1993: ''Mr. Pellam'' *2011: '' Sri Rama Rajyam'' ;Other Honours *Asthana Vidwan by Andhra Pradesh Academy of Arts. *South Indian Film Director's Association Award for Best direction – Sampoorna Ramayanam (1971 film), Sampoorna Ramayanam – 1972 *Visishta Puraskaramu from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University – 2002 *Life Time Achievement Award from Telugu Association of North America *"Shiromani" award fromBooks: American Telugu Association – 1992 *Honorary Doctorate "Kala Prapoorna" from Andhra University – 1991 *Raja-Lakshmi Award in 1982 from Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation, Chennai – 1982. bapubomma.com

Filmography

#''Sakshi (1967 film), Sakshi'' (1967) #''Bangaaru Pichika'' (1968) #''Buddhimantudu'' (1969) #''Inti Gowravam'' (1970) #''Balaraju Katha'' (1970) #''Sampoorna Ramayanamu'' (1971) #''Andala Ramudu (1973 film), Andala Ramudu'' (1973) #''Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddham'' (1974) #''Mutyala Muggu'' (1975) #''Sita Kalyanam (1976 film), Sita Kalyanam'' (1976) #''Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club'' (1976) #''Bhakta Kannappa'' (1976) #''Sneham'' (1977) #'' Mana Voori Pandavulu'' (1978) #''Gorantha Deepam'' (1978) #''Toorpu Velle Railu'' (1979) #''Vamsa Vruksham'' (1980) #''Rajadhi Raju'' (1980) #''Pandanti Jeevitam'' (1980) #''Kaliyuga Ravanaasurudu'' (1980) #''Hum Paanch (1980 film), Hum Paanch''* (1980) #'' Tyagayya'' (1981) #''Radha Kalyanam (1981 film), Radha Kalyanam'' (1981) #''Bezubaan''* (1982) #''Krishnaavataram'' (1982) #''Pelleedu Pillalu'' (1982) #''Neethi Devan Mayakkam'' (1982) #''Edi Dharmam Edi Nyayam?'' (1982) #''Mantri Gari Viyyankudu'' (1983) #''Woh Saat Din''* (1983) #''Seethamma Pelli'' (1984) #''Mohabbat (1985 film), Mohabbat''* (1985) #''Pyari Behna''* (1985) #''Bullet (1985 film), Bullet'' (1985) #''Kalyana Tamboolam'' (1986) #''Mera Dharam''* (1986) #''Diljalaa''* (1987) #''Prem Pratigyaa''* (1989) #'' Pelli Pustakam'' (1991) #''Mr. Pellam'' (1993) #''Srinatha Kavi Sarvabhowmudu (1993) #''Pelli Koduku'' (1994) #''Paramaatma''* (1994) #''Rambantu'' (1996) #''Radha Gopalam'' (2005) #''Sundarakanda (2008 film), Sundarakanda'' (2008) #'' Sri Rama Rajyam'' (2011) Those marked as * are Hindi films

Bibliography

# Ramayanam, co-written with Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, Ramana. This book was published in

, English and French language, French languages. # Maha Bharatam, co-written with Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, Ramana # Bapu Ramaneeyam, co-written with Ramana # Koti Kommachi, along co-written Ramana # (Im)Koti Kommachi, co-written with Ramana # Kosaru Kommachi, Bapu Ramaneeyam along with Ramana # Bapu Cartoonulu -1 # Bapu Cartoonulu -2 # Bommalu Geeyandi # Budugu, co-written with Ramana

References

External links

bapuartcollection.com
Bapu's Official Website with an extensive art collection *
Bapu: A Multifaceted Artist
- an article on Bapu {{DEFAULTSORT:Bapu 2014 deaths University of Madras alumni Telugu film directors Nandi Award winners 1933 births Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Rashtrapati Award Indian cartoonists Filmfare Awards South winners Hindi-language film directors Indian male screenwriters People from West Godavari district Writers from Andhra Pradesh Film directors from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian composers Indian male songwriters 20th-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Hindi screenwriters Telugu screenwriters Indian male painters Painters from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian painters 21st-century Indian painters Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian male writers 20th-century male musicians 20th-century Indian male artists 21st-century Indian male artists